Article timing mechanism for packaging machines



J. A. DIETER Dec. 22, 1964 ARTICLE TIMING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGINGMACHINES Filed July 5, 1962 INVENT 1 197' T0/Ey5' ARTICLE TIMINGMECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Filed July 5, 1962 ll Sheets-Sheet 2 J.A. DIETER RTICLE TIMING MECHANI KAGING MACHINES Dec. 22, 1964 SM FOR PAC1l Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jly 5, 1962 INVENTO m/mwfw ATT/VYS.

J. A. DIETER 3,162,294 ARTICLE TIMING MECHANISM PoR PACKAGING MACHINESDec. 22, 1964 11 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 5, 1962 o 1W 5. m ffm V N mMl m um mw: .MH rn om: Av \\o.v /W Y l mm. f A T. A um Nv m V 'Y v 1M mmA m. .n./I ...ln/WH'.. H.././.- .l 3L uw mm -1- 1U. mw w o l.' w.QlA/U/w/Lm. o @A K O mw on n G la mm m. wmv Om ww o o o o o o o o o o o.vw ww o@ AI' k om N v ma Sv ma ,Nv

J. A. DIETER 3,162,294

ARTICLE TIMINC MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Dec. 22, 1964 l1Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 5, 1962 Si O. am m f n, E v m@ m mwmwnml H 0 fl A l my mm# wk. wm C n n 0 Wm @o an... Mvg so m. mm Il wm mop mw mn...moT\/ I7 M J mm. lv I. :d WB llhwnhlr k .,sTl v 1.1 .J ld/5j@ 8 n|-I-yl- -.l\1 m NS .vm AW f o o o o o o o L .Y Q o o w uw x wm mw) @R n!QN. OO A mx mw w, o L o o o o o o o o o o o o o o @n o o Nm d@ ow @n owI -A\ Nv Q Q m Dec. 22, 1964 J. A. Dix-:TER 3,162,294

ARTICLE TIMING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Filed July 5, 1962 11Sheets-Sheet 6 t (INl/'ENTO n www@ Dec. 22, 1964 J. A. DIETER 3,162,294

ARTICLE TIMING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Filed July 5, 1962 llSheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 22, 1964 J. A. DIETER 3,152,294

ARTICLE TIMING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Filed July 5, 1962 llSheets-Sheet 8 f lNvEN R N 2N 18% A T TOA/EYS.

Dec. 22, 1964 .1. A. DIETER 3,162,294

ARTICLE TIMING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINES Filed July 5, 1962 1lSheets-Sheet 9 J. A. DIETER Dec. 22, 1964 ARTICLE TIMING MECHANISM FORPACKAGING MACHINES 1l Sheets-Sheet lO Filed July 5, 1962 INVENTO ATTEA/YJ. A. DIETER Dec. 22, i964 ARTICLE TIMING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGINGMACHINES ll Sheets-Sheet l1 Filed July 5, 1962 A# R PRESSURE A7 Tam/5y@cnRculT T32 the check weigher in relation United States Patent O3,i.62,294 ARTICLE Tilt/HN@ MECHANISM FOR PACKAGHNG MACHINES Julian A.Dieter, Cincinnati, Ghio, assignor to R. A.

Jones & Company, Inc., Covington, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky FiledJuly 5, 1962, Ser. No. 207,725 Claims. (Cl. wt- 34) This inventionrelates generally to packaging machines and is directed particularly toa timing mechanism for transferring articles from a processing machine,such as a pouch filler, to a carton loading machine in time with Itheoperating cycles thereof. Upon advancement to the carton loadingmachine, the articles or pouches are inserted into individual cartonswhich are subsequently closed and `discharged from the cartoningmachine, ready for shipment and retail sale.

One of the primary objectives of the invention has been to provide atiming apparatus which is adapted to receive the articles, such asenvelopes or pouches issuing from a processing machine at irregularspacing, to space the articles uniformly, and to advance the articles tothe buckets of' a cartoning machine conveyor in time with theadvancement of the buckets, thereby to load the successive conveyorbuckets in a rapid, reliable manner.

In the present disclosure, which has been selected to illustrate theprinciples of the invention, the timing mechanism coacts with a iillingmachine of conventional design which loads individual pouches with agranulated material, such as dehydrated soup mix; however, it will beunderstood that the timing apparatus may be utilized with machines forprocessing other articles. The granulated material is loaded intoenvelopes or pouches which are formed of pliable sheet material, such asplastic, the pouches being sealed after the lling operation iscompleted. After the filling and sealing operation, the filled pouchesare fed to a check weigher arranged to eject pouches which may be overor under the predetermined weight limits. After passing across the checkweigher, which includes a conveyor, the filled pouches are transferredto the timing mechanism of the present invention. The timing apparatus,in turn, is arranged to space the individual pouches with respect to oneanother and to advance the pouches to the buckets of the cartoningmachine conveyor in time with the advancement of the buckets so thateach bucket is properly filled with one or more pouches as it advancestoward the cartonng machine.

In the present disclosure, two pouch filling mechanisms, associatedcheck weighers and timing mechanisms are utilized to advance the filledpouches to the bucket conveyor for cartoning. Each pouch filling machineis driven by its own individual electric motor independently of thetiming mechanism, cartoning machine and associated bucket conveyor.These motors are adjusted to cause the fill-ing machines to deliverpouches one by one at a rate which corresponds, to the operating cyclesof the cartoning machine, in terms of the number of pouches which arefilled and discharged during a given period of time. However, the lilledpouches are delivered to the timing apparatus in a somewhat randomfashion because of the operation of the associated check weigher andbecause of certain inherent characteristics of the pouch filling machineitself. The timing mechanism of this invention therefore operates tocompensate for the temporary variations between the output of filledpouches issuing from to the operating cycles of the cartoning machine.

The cartoning machine, which is conventional, is adapted to erectindividual cartons from a collapsed state,

' to shift the articles from the conveyor buckets endwisely into'an openend of the erected carton, to close or seal the flaps of the carton,then to discharge the completed package to a delivery conveyor. A moderncartoning machine of this -type is capable of tilling the cartons inthis manner at relatively high rate of speed. In the present example,the two pouch fillers and associated timing mechanisms are spaced apartfrom one another along the bucket conveyor and are arranged to loadalternate buckets of the cartoning machine conveyor. In other words, thedownstream timing mechanism loads the articles into alternate bucketsand the empty buckets are loaded as they advance along the upstreamtiming mechanism, such that each bucket is tilled as it advances intothe cartoning machine. Each timing mechanism feeds two superposedpouches into the designated buckets, such that two pouches are insertedinto each carton upon reaching the cartoning machine, It will beunderstood however, that the apparatus may be arranged to feed a singlepouch into each carton or to feed more than two pouches in each carton,utilizing the operating principles of this invention.

Described generally, each timing mechanism of this invention comprises atiming conveyor having a pair of spaced parallel belts communicatingwith the conveyor of the check weighing apparatus with an overheadholdback conveyor disposed above belts of the timing conveyor andarranged to engage the leading edge of the pouches on the belt conveyor.The timing belt conveyor is advanced at a higher linear speed then thehold-back conveyor, which includes downwardly depending hold-backlingers adapted to engage the leading edge of the spaced pouches restingon the belts of the timing conveyor so as to advance the pouches atproperly spaced intervals toward the bucket conveyor.

Upon reaching the delivery end of the hold-back conveyor, the packagesare transferred to an infeed conveyor, which includes upwardlyprojecting pusher iingers which engage the trailing edge of theindividual pouches to ad# Vance them at properly spaced intervals towardthe dead plate of a sweep mechanism mounted above the bucket conveyor.The sweep mechanism includes paddles or fingers moving in unison withthe buckets of the conveyor and arranged to pass across the dead plate,thereby to en gage and transfer the pouches from the sweep mechanisminto the buckets in time with their advancement.

Another objective of the invention has been to provide a photoelectriccontrol apparatus operating in response to the advance of the pouches tospace the pouches uniformly as they are advanced at random from thecheck weighlng apparatus to the timing conveyor and its associatedhold-back conveyor.

Described briey, each pouch lling machine includes its comprises a pairof photoelectric cells spaced longitudinally above the spaced belts ofthe timing conveyor and spaced downstream from the overhead hold-backconveyor to act in response to the pouches as they are issued at randomfrom the check weigher. Mounted below the conveyor belts are spacedlamps which project light beams upwardly between the belts to theoverhead photoelectric cells. The arrangement is such that the lightbeams are interrupted in sequence by the individual pouches as theyissue from the check weigher conveyor at normal spacing along the beltsof the timer conveyor toward the holdback fingers. arresting elementmounted relative to the belts of the timer conveyor downstream from thehold-back fingers and arranged to temporarily arrest any pouch which isY both light beams are interrupted concurrently by a pair ownphotoelectric control apparatus. Each apparatus f The photoelectricapparatus includes anarresting device in the event that,

. '-10 pouches are accelerated by the belts of the timer ,conveyoruafter passing the photoelectric apparatus, so as to bejinter;

cepted by the slower movingy hold-back fingers as they pass downwardlyabout an idlersprocket andfall into a stopping position with respecttothe path of advance'-v ment of the pouches. .Y 4 j p' A furtherobjective of the inventionhas been to pro vide a hold-back conveyorwhich is adapted to compensate automatically in the eventfthata pouch isadvanced by the belts of the timing conveyor beyond the vphoto-- 4charge portion of the infeed `conveyor in relation to the bucketconveyor of the cartoning machine.

FIGURE S is Vacross sectional Vview taken along the line 8-8 of FIGURE7, Vdetailing the infeed'conveyor structure.

FIGURE 9 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 9,-9 of FIGURE2,-detailing the hold-back conveyor and its relationship to thepusher-typefinfeed conveyor which advances the pouches tothejcartoningmachine conveyor. ,A f i vFIGURE 10 is a ydiagrammatic top plan viewshowing the drivingsystem which interconnects the several cornf ponentsof the timing apparatus with the bucket conveyor of the cartoningmachine for timed operation. I lFIGURES 1'1 and 12 are diagrammaticviews illustratingthe action of the hold-back conveyor with respect to va pouch which .is improperly timed.

FIGURES 13-15'are diagrammatic views illustrating '.1 the operation ofthe photoelectric .controlV system with electric apparatus in improperlytimed relationshipwith.

respect to the fingers ofA one hold-back conveyor.

According to this aspect of the invention, the pouches advancing alongthe belts of the .timing conveyor., after having passed thephotoelectric apparatus, willv be posi` tioned somewhat Vbehind thehold-back ingerand somerespect to a pair of filled pouches which advancetoward the hold-back conveyor inv overlapping relationship, wherebytheVtrailing pouch is arrested then released in time with .the"advancementoff the hold-back Vconveyor' fingers; v

FIGURES 16 and 17 are similar diagrammatic Niews,

K showing the operation of the photoelectriclcontrol system what ahead.of the nextringer. However, in the eventof a malfunction in which agiven pouch `would arrive at the hold-back finger somewhaty late, thenthisjiinger, in mov'- ing around the sprocket of the downstream endofthe yhold-back conveyor, normally would'engage the top suraceiof thepouch and puncture it. Howeven to avoid this, the hold-back fingers arepivotallyA mounted with respect to the chain which advances them.Therefore, when f suchva condition occurs, the finger falls againstandrests upon the top surface of the improperly timed pouch, Vthen pivotsupwardly relative tothe chain, allowing-theV late arriving pouch to beadvanced by the faster belts .ofV the Y timing conveyor forwardly to thenext finger aheadwith= out any damage to the pouch andwithout'disrupting the timing of the apparatus. n v .3

The various other features and advantagesfof the'presa ent inventionwill be moreV clearly apparent to those skilled in the art from thefollowing detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings.f

In the drawings: f

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatick top planview illustrating the pouch iiliingmachines'and the timing apparatus which spaces the filled pouchesy forytimed delivery/to the conveyor buckets of the cartoningmachine.

Y FIGUREV 2 Visga side elevation', as

. ciples ofthe'i'nventio'n (FIGURE 1), the cartoning machine` isVarranged torinsert two filled pouches in each viewed along thel line 2-2of .FGURE 1, yillustrating yin .a generalwayI thcl l' .pouch timingapparatus andthe conveyor ofthe carton-V ing machine. f

FIGUREis an 4enlarged fragmentary side elevationjof the pouch timingapparatus taken frornFIGUREZ.

vof the photoelectric timingapparatus.

with respect to Va pair of pouches, whereinv the two pouches areadvanced at a spacing which is less than the minimum spacing, asdistinguished from the. overlapping condition shown inLFIGURES 13-15.

FIGURE `18 is a diagrammatic view, illustrating-in a general Way, theelectrical and air pressure control system General Arrangement y Asnoted earl-ier, the pouch timing apparatus ofithis invention is intendedto receive pouches as they areprocessed by the pouch iilling machinesarid 4to deliver the filled pouches to the bucket conveyor of thecartoning machine in properly timed sequence. It will be understood thatthe pouch filling machines are power-drivenindependentlylof thecartoning machine and independently of one another.L Thus, the timingapparatus compensates for temporary variationsrbetween the'output of thepouch illingmachines and the rate of advancementv of the bucket conveyorof the cartoning' machine.

According to the example selected to illustrate the princarton,l .Forthis operation,l two pouchlling machines ,and associatedpouch timers arellocated along the bucket conveyorvdownstream from the cartoningmachine. As

` Aviewed in yFIGURE 1,"the downstream pouch filling ma-y FIGURE 4is'aatop plan view of the timingV apparatus as'projected from'FIGURE 3.Y v Y FIGURE 5 is'an enlarged fragmentaryy sectional view taken alongline 5-5 of; FIGURE 4, showing the receivf' ing end portion of the pouchtiming apparatusincluding the belt-conveyor,` the photoelectricVapparatus, andthe hold-backiconveyor which spa-ces the illedpouche's'rela''QV tivetof'one another on thebeltlconveyorifor deliveryin v time with the advancing'bucketsV of the cartoning machine,A

conveyor.

vances `the spaced pouches towardthe advancing buckets of the cartoningmachine conveyor.V

.i. FIGURE 7fy is an enlarged Y FIGURE 6 is a ragmentaryis'ectional viewtaken along v y lineV `6"--6 ofFIGURE4 (SimilartoFIGURE 5) Showingy i.,

' the; delivery .end of the 'hold-back' conveyor and'Y a portion `o'fthe Voverlapping pusher-type infeed-conveyor which ,ade

i I I gmeitary ysectional view; l V

mkg along '1i-6 7710? FGU-RE i. leaning the da.

retailer. .1

vchine'is indicatedgenerally at 1 and the upstreamlling f machinevis-indicatedatx2'. Each lling machine 1 and 2 includes 'any individualpouchtiming apparatus,.indi cated generally at 3, which communicateswith the vbuckets 4 of the cartoningmachine conveyor f5. `These-bucketsadvance thei'illed pairs of pouches "to the cartoning machineV .6,k asAnoted fabove. Thenca'rtoning machine 6 is' conventional A. andV 4'isV varranged,r to ,insert the vsuperposed pouches intoljrespective cartons,.to close the cartons, then to advance Vth I'cartons to a delivery:conveyor 7 ready.- to be packed .into cases for` delivery to vthewholesaler or i' It 4vvillfhe understood/,at `'this point, that'th'epouch or article `timing apparatus lof thisyinvention may beyutilizedfwith arrangements oth erthan that shown inl FlG- URE. 1. Forvexample, `if,y a single pouch is to bepa'cked f into each carton, then asingle illingmachine'and associated timing yapparatu'sjmay bemounted' tocommunica tewith'the` bucket-conveyorSL 'On the other hand, if mo'rethan,two pouches areto be'packag'ed, l.thenafc'orre-- spending number ofpouch iiIlersand-timers `may'beemf paratus toward the bucket conveyor 5.

ployed, utilizing lthe same operating principles outlined above.

In the arrangement illustrated, each alternate bucket 4 of the cartoningconveyor 5 receives two superposed pouches 8 (FIGURE 5) from thedownstream filling and timing apparatus 1. The alternate empty buckets,upon advancing past the upstream pouch filling and timing apparatus 2,each receive a second pair of superposed pouches. As described later,the delivery end of each pouch timing apparatus 3 includes a sweepmechanism which receives the two superposed pouches, then sweeps the twopouches into the advancing buckets 4.

It will be understood at this point that, in the present example, thecartoning machine 6 is provided with a sensing apparatus (not shown)which checks each conveyor bucket 4. Inthe event of temporary failure ofone or both of the pouch filling machines 1 and 2 or associated timingapparatus 3, the sensing apparatus conditions the cartoning machine tofeed cartons only in relation to the buckets which contain pouches. Inthis manner, the cartoning machine continues to package the pouchesissuing from the operative pouch filling and timing apparatus, whileremaining inactive with respect to the empty buckets. As soon as `theinactive apparatus is again placed in operation, the cartoning machine,through its sensing apparatus, resumes normal operation.

The pouch lling machines 1 and 2 are conventional and forV this reasonare not disclosed in detail. Briefly,

. each pouch ller is arranged to feed granulated material,

such as dehydrated soup mix or a similar product into a relativelyflatrectangular pouch 8 (FIGURE 5) and to deliver the pouches in sealedcondition ready for use. The pouch filler are driven lindependently ofthe bucket conveyor 5 by individual motors 11i-10, as shown in FIGURE 1.

Both filling machines 1 and 2 include a respective delivery conveyor 11leading to respective weight checking machines 12 and 13. The checkweighing machines are also conventional, each including a suitable scale(not shown) arranged to check the weight of the lled pouches andmechanism to eject any pouch which may weigh more or less than apredetermined amount.

In the example shown in FIGURE 1, the filled pouches issuing from thedownstream pouch filler 1 are transported by its conveyor 11 directly tothe check weigher 12 and to the timer 3, as indicated by the arrows. Thepouches which issue from the upstream filling machine 2 are advanced bya. similar conveyor 11 to the check weigher 13. However, in .this case,the pouches pass from the check weigher 13 to a turntable 14 whichadvances the pouches through a half-turn, then delivers them to thetiming apparatus 3. The turntable 14 is utilized simply to conserve oorspace in the layout illustrated in FIGURE 1. A

Each timing apparatus 3 includes a pusher type, inteed conveyor,indicated generally at 15 which is arranged to advance the individualpouches from the timing lap- In other words, the timing 'apparatus ofeach pouch filler segregates and times the individual pouches relativeto the associated infeed conveyor 15. The infeed conveyor, in turn,advarices the pouches to an associated sweep mechanism whichsubsequently feeds them to the conveyor buckets 4 in time with theadvancement of the buckets, as explained later in detail.

It will be understood at this point, that the motors 1li-10 arearranged-to drive the pouch filling mechanisms 1 and 2 at speeds whichare related to the operating cycles of the carton machine 6. Thus, ifthe pouches ,are to be packaged two to a carton, as noted above, theneach timing apparatus isarranged to advance two pouches to alternatebuckets 4 of the conveyor 5. Thus, the first pair of pouches are Afed-into 'a first ybucket `by `the downstream apparatus 1, the secondbucket is skipped, and the `third bucket is loaded by the downstreamapparatus 1.

6 The alternate empty buckets are then filled as they ad- Vance past theupstream apparatus 2. Thus each bucket contains a pair of superposedpouches after it passes both inteed conveyors 15 and enters thecartoning machine. As noted earlier, the timing apparatus of theinvention may be utilized in various combinations and speeds other thanthat illustrated to load -a selected number of articles into eachcarton, utilizing the same operating principles.

Although the pouch fill-ing machines 1 and 2 may be driven by theirrespective motors 10 at rates which correspond with the rate ofoperation of the cartoning machine 6, in terms of units handled in adriven time period, nevertheless, it is necessary to time the|advancement of the filled pouches -accurately with respect to theadvancing buckets 4 of the cartoning machine conveyor 5. For thispurpose, as explained later in detail, the pouch timing mechanisms 3 3,their associated infeed conveyors 15-15, and sweep mechanisms are indriving connection with the bucket conveyor 5 so that these componentsoperate in synchronism with one another.

As explained later in detail (FIGURE 1), each infeed conveyor 1S leadsto a dead plate 16 mounted above the bucket conveyor S and forming yapart of asweep mechanism, indicated generally at 17. Each infeedconveyor is arranged to feed two pouches sequentially to the dead plate16 to form the pair of superposed pouches; the sweep mechanism 17 istimed to sweep the pair or pouches into the appropriate conveyorbuckets. The sweep mechanisms 17 are driven by the common driving systemin time with the other components of the machine, as noted earlier.

Briefly therefore, the pouch timing mechanisms 3 3 correct yanyirregularity in the spacing of the pouches issuing from the pouch llingmachines 1 and 2, then the infeed pusher conveyors 15-15, also operatingin time with conveyor 5, advance the individual pouches to the deadplates 167-16. The pouches dwell momentarily in superposed pairs on thedead plates, then they are transferred by the sweep mechanisms 17-17into the advancing buckets 4 of the conveyor 5.

Common Driving System As viewed in FIGURE l, the cartoning machine 6 isdriven by a main motor indicated at 18. This motor includes a driveshaft 2G, extending parallel with the bucket conveyor 5 and includingdriving connections for operating the pouch timing mechanisms 3-3, theinfeed pusher conveyors 15, and the sweep mechanisms 17 in time with theconveyor 5, and in time with the cartoning machine, as described below.In other words, all components of the installation shown in FIGURE l aredriven in time with one another and with the cartoning machine by thedrive shaft 20, except the pouch filling machines 1 and 2, which aredriven by their own motors 11i- 10, as noted earlier.

The driving system 1is shown diagrammatically in FIG- URE l0, inrelation to the timing apparatus of the downstream pouch lilerapparatus 1. It will be understood that the driving system for theupstream timing apparatus 2. is identical, and that the followingdescription applies to both mechanisms.

Referring to FIGURE 10, the downstream end of the common drive shaft 2t)(which parallels the bucket conveyor 5) includes a bevel gear 21 meshingwith a bevel gear22, which is keyed to a .cross shaft 23 (FIGURE 2)arranged to drive the sweep mechanism 17. For this purpose, the crossshaft 23 (FIGURES 2 and 7) `is journalled in the frame 24 and includes asprocket 25 on its end opposite the bevel gear 22. The sprocket 2Sdrives a sprocket chain 26 which is trained about a cornpanion sprocket27 keyed to a cross shaft 28. The cross shaft 'Z'is also journalled inthe frame 24 and forms a part of the sweep mechanism 17 which transfersdescribed Ain detail later.

f cludes a sprocket'f drivingV a sprocket sgr-eene In order to drive theinfeed pusher conveyor in time i Y Vshaft V (-FIG-V with the othercomponents, main drive across the dead URE 10)I Vfurther includes"V .adrive sprocket A31 located Y i along theside kof the `pusher conveyor 15opposite the bevel gear-21. Asshown'inFlGURE 2, a sprocket chaininterconnects the drive sprocket 31 with Va driven sprocket' mounted*oniaacrossshaft 34 Which-is jour-A rra'lled infthe -rame 35 of theinfeed pusher conveyor 15.` As shown in FIGURES'7Y andrS, the crossshaft 34 iny chainfS' which includes spaced pairs offpusher ngers;

8, as indicated in broken line-s, s'o as to advance thek pouches to thedead plat-e716 intime with the advance" ment ofthe sweep ngens 30. Thestructural details of the pusher conveyor 15 arealso* described inAdetail later.

y sis-3s. These l' fingers engage', the trailing edge of the respectivepouchesVv Each timing apparatus 3 includes a belt-typeconveyor,1V i

indicatedv generally at 40' (FIGURE l0), which co-operates withanioverhead hold-backvconveyor 41- in timing the pouches. y I I veyor41' `(FIGURES 5 and- 6), photoelectri'c control system; asV explainedlater, space the para 453; hasta andirspfscka 4s: ma Sprocket:

45, adriving connection is also established with thehold' back-conveyor-bythe gears'f48 and50'which mesh with one'another asf'sh'owri` infFIGURE/9 to driveV thecross shaft Slfrof theheld-backconveyor.V4 Y'In`v` order' to'clarify the driving^ systemgrthe hold-back' thev rgears48a`ndl Sbeing indicated in Vthisy view "by the broken lines ',53"\. Itwill beunderstood that the driving system? is' arranged'fto advancejth'ekbeltconveyor 40 at a 4rate Vslightlyfaster than theholdba'ckiconveyor411, so

that'lthe: V'poucl'les (which rest upon 'the advancing? belt) arerestrainedvby the hold-bachi iingers 42"and advanced atproper'lspacingftothesweep mechanism 17.'v Y.

r 'Fondi-.Timing Coveyoil System? v i `R'referring leach timingjapparatus :3v

essentially". comprises thejbelt conveyor 4l','t he hold-back conveyor;y41j,V and therpouch arresting device, which/.is indilcatedf generallyVatV '54. Asrex'pla'ined ear1ier,"'tl1e filled pouchesgywhichrissue fromthe pouch filling machines 1 andfZg'.aret'advancedby'thecheck weighers13 and I4 to the Vd 'ec'eivir'rg vend` `55%(F4IGURE `5)`L of the* beltconveyor 401' by' means' of aV f snlitableu conveyingapparatusKnot shownin detail) which is indicated diagrammaticall'yv at 56; ,f

The Y belt,c :orn'leyor 40' comprises apair ofparallel belt runsVr57;"-57 spaced'y apart Y 4Va`n`d' 9S)V arranged toi support' theopposite sideportions of vthe pouches 8` with. the hold-back nge'rs 42of the' hold-V pouches accurately relative to one another astheyissuefrom the check WeigherV 13', which includes a suitablebe'lt- As notedearlier, the pouches issue 'somewhat atrandomr fromV the check'Weig`h`er1andf-1 conveyor (not shown). r

are properlyltimed by operation of the beltv conveyor 4Q' 1 andhold-back conveyor 412. I. As shown in FIGURES 5 and 9 41 isV providedthe''hold-'back conveyor conveyor 40. The` belt slightly,l greater thanthe strained bythe hold-back the timing mechanism 3.

yIn order to'. advance the belt conveyor 40 'andholdback coriveyor'41 atrelated ratesy and inV time with the other machine components,rr`the-cross shaft 34 Z(FIGURES 7, 9 and l0) of the'pushericonveyor 15"includesadrive r sprocket 43 for driving the *belty conveyor 40 andhold-j back'conve'yor- 415 Sprocket 43-fdrives a sprocket chain-v 44ytrained about a driven sprocketS which is mounted upon a cross shaft 46.Cross shaft46gis -journalledin lthe with spaced', hold-backl fingers V42which project downwardly between the' spaced belts of Athe'beltVconveyor ri advances'atj a rate hold-back fingers, such that the pouches8,whiY hrestupo'n/theV belt conveyorsfarerefingers as they advancethrough:

idler'rsha'ft 61j for controlling thetension of the belts. i 5757fheframe '47 of the timing'kapparatus yis supp'orte'dlthe standards63`--634'FIGU RE'2)',jyvhich rest engage 'the leading'edges of l thepouches. As'bestrshown in FIGURE 6, the belts arek driven bythepulleys'- 5.8,-58 keyed tothe cross shaft 46, which,asnoted earlier, isjourn'alled inthefconveyo'r trarne' 47j and driven by the I chain 44from driveshaft 20'.` 'Y

thefbelt" loops, ST1-57 are trainedd vIl'Ieoppositeendof v p Y w aboutthe idierepuue'ys V601-60. (FIGURES 4 and 5), which arernounted upon anirrth`el-frarne'47v.' "Ijhe" frame includes respectiveadjustmentdeviceswZY-GZ V(FIGURES.,3j and 4) engaging the upon the'door.

' 'il The: hold-'back.conveyor41,` ,which is'r'mounted above the spaced'conveyor' belts `57,;is Asujp'poi"ted `by the bearing fplateS,previously. indicated lat 5L-#512' at its downstream frame 47v of thebelt conveyorfitl, which forms a'continua- Y tion of the'frarne 35 ofthe pusher conveyor 15; Thebelts ofthe conveyor' 4%" are YtrainedVabout' pulleys which vfaire V keyed tovthe cross shaft 46, as explainedlater. i Y fTheVhold-back conveyor- 41 belt conveyor 4@ by means ofa'drivinggear 48` (FIG URES Z and' 9), which is keyed to Vthe crossshaftfde on isdriven in tirriewith the the side opposite fthersprocketl45j" Driving gear ,48-

meshes'with a driven gear 50 .which Ais keyed to across` shaft 51formingl a partrofthe holdbfaclik conveyor 41.

conveyor 40.-

drivev shaft" y2l) is in driving connection with]the.svvee'pj"Q f` theibevel gears 121 andfZ-Z `and mechanism 17 Y,by way o end and by a pairofsimilarbealing'plates 64;-64 (FIG- URES 2454)` at its upstream'end,the bearing plates being 1f vattaclie'djtoV the frame 47 at Voppositesides. The ystructure `fprtlrer includes a series orfrverticall bars `YV(FIGURES l3 5 and 9)'jwhi`ch support 'the chain loop 660i thehold'- In"general, the hold-back conveyor( 41V comprises the single'cha'in1001566 (FIGURES 3 6) having'its forward 1 endtrainedabout the drive`sprocket v67 fof1 cross shaft 51 journallediin the `bearing plates52f-52," As noted' earlier,V

Vthe .cross s haftQSlisx driven 'invr time rwith the machine componentsLb'y the' sprocketehain 44y which is connected to the mainl driveshaft20. i

l The downstream,endoflchain Vloopft passes aroundV Y .anV idlersprocket 6j8,('FIGUR'E 5) `mounted upon an Cross' lshaft; fisVjournalled in lbearing platesgZ-SZ Y 65 which project upwardly from.;the frarriejfilV ofithe belt ispalso in/driving'conneetion wit thepusher conveyor 15;

` by way of the sprocket'lrchain and sprocket 33. @Afal' drivingconnec'tion'is alsoestablishedfr'omfthejpusher V`VeonveyorflS to thebelt conveyor 40riby'ineans of the "barsf A, A .Y

arly up ortedpo afrailf 74-"rmou'nted ponglhe s rsxrn'il Vlower crossidler shaft A journall'ed .in y'the bearing plates/,6 4A-6Z3- ,Y Asbestshown 3, they bearing plates 64,4464 v eachinclude an adjustmentdevicef71` engaging lthe oppok y '1 site ends ofridler shaft 70gto'r'eg'ulate-.the tension of Injsummary'rwith reference to-FIGUREilQ,thefrnainn:vv Y "f asvyiewgd-in kvFiGURsss' nd"9',fai upper vmit time ichain loopedirs; supported l'ya rail V72 mounted upon a l series 'ofcrossp'rnembers v7?; extending between V.the 'vertical ,Thedow runofftheVchairrloop66 is conveyor 41V' is shown displaced laterally.' from' thebelt conveyor' 40 inFIGURE 10,thetrneshinglengagement of from oneanother (FIGUR-ES l idler shaftv '61, also journ'alled spaced pouches.

The pusher fingers 42 of the hold-back conveyor 41 are generallytriangular as viewed from the side (FIGURE 'each finger being pivotallyconnected as at 76 to the chain loop 66. As explained later withreference to FIGURE l1, the pusher lingers 42 are arranged to pivotupwardly, if necessary,'as they advance along the lower run of the chainloop 66. The purpose of this arrangement is to prevent damage to thepouches 8 in the event that a pouch accidently is advanced by the beltconveyor 4t) ina position in which the pusher linger 42 engages the 'topof the pouch, as shown in FIGURE 1l.

In order to permit upward swinging motion of the hold-back fingers 42,each linger (FIGURES 5 and 6) includes an arcuate slot 77 formed in itsswinging portion and traversed by a screw 78 passing through the chainloop 66. As viewed in FIGURES 6 and 9, the trailing or heel portion 8)of each linger 42, which includes the slot 77, slides upon the upperrail 72 as the linger passes along the upper run of the chain loop 66,thus holding the ngers in the upright position illustrated. For thispurpose, the rail 72 projects laterally from the chain loop 66, as shownin FIGURE 9.

In order to permit the hold-back fingers 42 to pivot upwardly (FIGURE 9)along 'the lower run of chain loop 66, the lower guide rail 74 does notextend transversely from the chain loop 66. As a consequence, eachlinger 42 depends by gravity from the lower chain run and is adapted tobe rotated about its pivot point 76 in an upward and rearward directionupon encountering an obstruction, as indicated by the arrow in FIGUREll. However, the slot 77 and screw 78 prevents the linger from beingpivoted in the opposite direction, such that the finger resists theforward pressure imposed upon it by the article which is being advancedagainst the linger by the belt conveyor 4l).

As the pouches S are transferred from the conveyor 56 of the pouchfilling machine (FIGURE 5), the opposite end portions of the pouchesrest upon the belt runs 57-57 (FIGURE 9). As explained earlier, the beltruns advance at a rate faster than the hold-back lingers, such that theleading edge of the pouch is intercepted by an advancing hold-backlinger 42 which projects downwardly between the belts. As shown inFIGURE 9, the pouches S'are conlined upon the conveyor belt runs 57--57by the guide rails 81-31 which 4are mounted upon the frame 47 alongopposite sides of the belt runs.

In order to control the spacing of the pouches S as they advance fromthe conveyor .56 of the check weigher, each timing apparatus 3 includesvthe arresting device 54, comprising a vertically shiftable poucharresting plate indicated generally at 82 (FIGURE 5). The arrestingplate 82 is mounted upon a piston rod S3 projecting upwardly from apiston conlined in an air cylinder d4. The lower end of the air cylinder84 is mounted upon a plate 85 secured -to an angle iron 86 which extendstransversely across the frame 47 of the timing apparatus. The uppersurface of the arresting Vplate 82 includes a pad 87,

` formed of foam rubber or the like, which is arranged to establish africtional engagement with a` pouch when the arresting plate S2 iselevated.

As best shown in FIGURE 4, the arresting plate has a width dimensionless than the spacing between the belt runs 57 to permit the plate to beshifted by its cylinder S4 kto a position above the plane of the beltruns to arrest temporarily any selected pouch, as indicated in FIGURE14,]thereby to time the pouches with respect to the advancing hold-backlingers 4. TheA arresting plate 32 of each timing apparatus normallyresides in a plane spaced below vthe top surface of the belt conveyor 40so as to oler no interference with the advancement of normally YPhotoelectrz'c Apparatus The operation of each arresting plate 82 isregulated fby ak respective pair of photoelectric cells 88-88 (FIG- URE5) which are mounted on a bracket 90 projecting outwardly from one ofthe bearing plates 64 of the holdback conveyor 41. As shown in FIGURE4,v the bracket includes a pair of lateral arms 91 arranged to supportthe photoelectric cells in a centered position above the spaced beltruns 57-5'7 of the belt conveyor 40.

The apparatus includes a pair of lamps or light sources 92-92 (FIGURE 5)adapted to project respective light beams upwardly to thephotoelectriccells 88. The light sources are mounted upon respective brackets 93-93projecting outwardly from the lower portion of the frame 47. The lightsources 92 are also mounted between the belt runs 57 and in verticalalignment with the photoelectric cells so that each lamp 92 projects alight beam upwardlybetween the spaced belts to its coacting phototube,as indicated diagrammatically at 94 (FIGURE 5 As explained later, thephotoelectric cells 88 are interconnected in a `suitable amplifyingcircuit lto regulate the operation of the air cylinder S4 of thearresting plate 82.

It will be understood that the light beams 94 are interrupted Iby thepouches l8 as they advance along the belt runs 57 (FIGURE 5). However,if the successive pouches are located at the proper spacing along thebelt runs 57 (conveyor 40), then the arresting plate 82 remains in itslowered, -inactive position. In other words, the spacing of the light`beams 94 is greater than the length of the pouches; therefore, anygiven pouch sequentially interrupts the first beam which is indicated atA, then interrupts the next beam, indicated at B, but does not interruptyboth beams at the same time. In the present example, the light beamsare spaced apart from one Ianother a distance of 6% as indicated at C,while the length of the pouch is 6, as indicated at D. The photo cells8f3-8S are connected in series in the control circuit and the controlcircuit is arranged to elevate the arresting plate only if both lightbeams are interrupted atV the same time. As explained later, this actioncauses the spacing is obtained between the two pouches.

FIGURES 13 and 14 illustrate a condition wherein a pouch E issues fromthe pouch :lilling mechanism (conveyor 56) vin overlapping relationshipwith a previously issued pouch In this example, the pouch F interceptsthe light -beam B of one photoelectric cell and the pouch E interceptsthe lbeam A. Accordingly, both light beams are interrupted at the sametime, thus conditioning the control circuit to elevate the arrestingplate 82 (FIG- URE 14), thereby to halt the pouch E temporarily.

After the trailing end of pouch F passes beyond the light -beam B(FIGURE 14), the circuit is conditioned to lower the arresting platesince only one of the beams (beam A) is now interrupted. The pouch E isthus replaced on the conveyor belts 57 when the normal spacing,indicated at G (FIGURE l5), is restored between the pouches. Thisspacing corresponds generally with the spacing` of the lingers 42 of thehold-back conveyor 41, as noted earlier. By virtue of the fact that thebelt runs 57 advance at a rate faster than the hold-'back conveyor 41(lingers 42), pouch F will advance into engagement with the hold-backlinger H (FIGURE l5), while the released pouch E will advance intoengagement with the next hold-back finger I after it passes around theidler sprocket, as indicated.

In the example illustrated in FIGURES 16 and 17, the pouch fillingmechanism (conveyor 56) has advanced a pouch K to the belt runs S7 tooquickly, such that the spacing L between the pouches K and -M is lessthan the normal spacing, previously indicated at G (FIGURE 15). Withoutthe photoelectric apparatus, the pouch M would advance into engagementwith the hold-back finger N and hold-back ringer O, would engage the topsurfaceV of the pouch K, thus disrupting the machine operation. It willbe noted in this case, that the two pouches also intercept the lightbeams A and B at the same time, again causing the control circuit toelevate the arrestingv plate .fingers 42'."

4engagedA against indicated attP.

Y Asthe pouchesfa're advancedgfalongfthe krinfed.Y con# 11 82 @FIGURE 17thereby to arrest pouch Aftery the leading pouch M'advances beyondthebeam. B, the cir= cuit will.'lwv'erftheY arresting plate, allowingthe pouch K to follow: the pouch Mv at the normal spacing,l previouslyindicated at G in FIGURES 15 and 17, therebyto time pouch K fwithrespect to the holdlback 'linger O.

Ifeed Conveyor are advanced fro'mfthe downstream endiof thetimingapparatus 3'v to the infeed conveyor 15 to be .deliveredatYproperspacing tol the ,sweepV mechanism 17 of Veach .of

the pouchllillers 1 and 2. V-The'infeed conveyor 15 of" each ll'er isdriven in time fwiththe othercomponents .ofthe machine by means of Vvthe commonY drive shaft 20- and sprocket chainV ,4A-,fasi noted earlier'withA referencev to n, v

FIGUREio. n

Y Described in detail i(FlGUREr7,)the infeed conveyor; chainloop,previously'indicatedat 37, is trainedaround the driving sprocket ofshaftrl.` The opposite 'endlof chain loopl 3;'7 :is trained aroundV anidler sprocket 95 (FIGURE 6),', which -is mounted upon af'cross shaft96, t also journalled inthe side members of. frame 47.rk "Asrv shown inFIGURE 6, chain loop 3-7 is mounted below the chain loop 660i' theholdl-backkconveyor :anidits' n downstream portion (loop 37) overlapsthe upstream por-- tion of the holdv'back chain ytfrandlits belt Vruns57--'r7.VV

By virtue1 of this arrangementQGFIGURE') the trail,-

ing. edge of each pouch 8 is eng'agedbythe *disappear ``V ingpusheriingers Sfand, at about the same time, A the leading edge 'of the pouchis releasedby the. hold-#back jThus ras kshown in'FIG'URE l6, the pouchY8 f Y tbelt conveyor 40gwith its leading y,edge the advancing hold-backngerLwhich is f At about4 the time the hold-back finger g P swingsupwardly about the sprocket67,lthe pusher'n- Y` is advanced bythe ger Qsprings upwardly aboutfthe idler'sprocket'95 in a reaching the end ofthe belt conveyor@ '40,fthen'its' advancement isV continued -byoperation of the pusher iinvAs best shown inFIGVURE 9,the'pusherriingers 38 are arranged in pairs spracedfla'terallyYfrorn oneanother and straddlin'g,` the hold-backfingers 42, such-.that there isnoA Vpossibility `ot interferencebetween the; coacting "sets of.position slightly spaced-'behind lthe trailing edge of, the 'pouch 8.Thus, the pouch may pause momentarily upon pivot by gravity toward the.

kare inclined downwardlyY dead plate.

Yproject outwardlyfrom opposite. sides 'ot theV chain and,`

overlie the upper surface 'of `each .tailpiece 97,. such that eachtailpiece' is' confined between jits'rail 9Sandi cross pin v103along-the upperlrun.r -As viewed inFIGURE 7, the t, end portion -of'theitail'piece rails v Y Y Y l drive sprocket 36 and-their end portionsare curved down- `As lnoted above ('FIGURESQI- yand 6), the pouches SV98-98.V -straddle' the wardly as 'at 104 aboutfaf radius co'mrnontoV theaxisy of the sprocket 3,6.;` Thepusherngers 38 are thus free to ychainrun` as. they pass about lthe idler'sprocket',95'\(FIGURE6) yasindicatedv at 105 in broken'.` lines in fthis View'.y Whenfth'etailpiece engages the upstream-'end 106 Vofv-thel tailpiecerail98, theiinger yis pivoted abruptly by Vvthe railtoitsl operating Vpositioninto' engagement with the trailing edgeV of the pouch. v A

Again referring'to FIGURE 7, the Vportions of the article i supportrails 102,y ywhichextend beyondfthe sprocket36.

the downwardly inclined. `portions"107 are connected Vto the dead plate16,'.whi`ch isV vmounted-directlyabovetlie vr'bucket conveyor 5:., 'Therate of Vadvancementof the infeed conveyor 15 isfsufiicient tok propelthe pouchesV against Y the stop 108 whichfismounted. along .onefedge ofthe Ase'xplained-r r'earlie1,.the lapparatus is timed to feedtwopou'che's,y one-above-.the' other, to theY dead plate, thenpthefsweep mechanismV 17 transfersl the two pouches to; the appropriateconveyor-bucket. In order to permitvthe second pouchy Rto ybe placedupon the lower pouch S, .the deadv plate 16 isin' thefform=-of a pocket,`oneend`of Awhich-is delineated by' the curved'V section 1'10 extendingVfrom Vthe downwardly inclinedk rail' portion 107.

The, opposite' end of the' pocketis delineated by thestop 108; Afterbeing transferred to the dead plate, the superposed pouches Rand S dwellmomentarily, thenthey are transferred; by the sweepngers 300i the sweepmecha- Y nism l17v into the advancin' g.l conveyor bucket.

` `Sweep 'Mechanism M As ldescribedy earlierwith reference to .FIGURES2, 7

, and l0, each sweepfmechani'srn'17 isgdrivenin time with the severalcomponentsof the machine by way of the main Vshaftlll, crosslffshaftv23, and sprocketschainr 26, lwhich drives.the power shaft`28l of thesweep mechanism. The

drivingrsystem advances the sweep fingers k30 of eachsweep mechanismat'a linear ratecorre'sponding'to lthe advancefingers in the overlappingportion of the two conveyors.x

inorder tohold Ithe advancing pouches properly in alignment wlthrespectto the infeevdfconveyor.

, Asshown in-FIGV'UREG, herpusher fingers:y y

the nge'rs'located onv opposite sides of the'cl:1ain.^ VV Eachl g Ypusher: finger includes a tailpiece 97; the-tailpiecesfslide upon theVupper, surfaceof Vrespective Vtailpipe rails; 9.8

The guide'rails, previouslyfindicated at81-'81j, eXtend',fwithoutinterruption from the beltconveyor 40 and along .theiinfeedpusher conveyor 1Sto. thejsweep rmechanis'rng..

extending4 along opposite sides-of the 1 upper .run of chain t s1(PIGURE;8); The rails as thashold the nngersfssm the. `uiliight'position as.4 theyv push theV pouches 8 Talon g1 the Y `.Described invdetail uwi, hereference ment of the buckets 4 ofthe bucketconveyor 5.However,

the sweep ngers,:ot each sweep mechanism, inthe present example; arespaced apart irorn/ one VVanother Vtozadvance in timewiththe'alternatejbuckets of the conveyor; Thus,

asrioted earlier, thesweep'jmechanism of the'downstream pouch ller 1transfers onepairrof pouches R andl S from l t ,its Vdeadz platefqintogiven conveyor lbucket and, skips each alternate bucket; fAtsiniilarpair of superposed pouches 'lfand Usare transferred-intothealternate'empty buckets as they advancerelative'vto the sweep mechanismofthe upstream lillerlmecha'nis'm 2,.'

Y o toFIG'UREs 2, `7 and 10,1which .representVT the downstream-'sweep'mecha-f nism, the power shatZS of .theswe'ep rnechanismhas itsVopposite ends.y rotatably journall'ed Vin'itheY spaced sidel platesupper runf ofV the infeed conveyor ltowardftheI sweep mechanism. Theupper ru'nrofeachV chain loop 37;'is`si1'pposed between the rails 93%98;

of fthe .framef24 orfathe bucket conveyor.r4 Respective v :f'laterally.spaced-.'sprockets" t 111;-1'112y are..l keyed `to the supporteduponfspaccd article suppor'tfnfrailsltlzV-IM.

powershaft Zlme'tw'eenVV vther/side plates ofthe conveyor frame, eachP'sprocket'.including' a respective chain loop (FIGURE: VAl().)-fpassaround respective', idler sprockets (FIGURES) whicharespacedfab'ove therails- 98 andV ferencej-rornj the beltconveyorffto the railslilln zd .lfromthe upstream idlerfpulley 5.83ct the belt conveyor w40, `such thatthe pouches vare .transferredzJ-without' inter-V 'rticlesilplortiA 1 lextendingtransverselybetweenthe"chain loops 112V and Yhaving. *their`opposite f ends 'fc'onriectedfto thej chains by brackets: nsf-;`(FIGURE- 7); 4 .The sweepnnge'rs,

previously indicatedljat. 30,*proje =downwardlyinpairs asY at 107. The.lower end ofv from each crosspiece 109.

The arrangement is such that the sweep fingers along the lower run ofthe chain loops 112 pass across the dead plate 16 in registry with thetrailing edge of related conveyor bucket 4 at the same rate ofadvancement.

The spacing of the sweep fingers is such that respective pairs of sweeplingers of each sweep mechanism 17 register with alternate buckets 4 ofthe conveyor 5, as noted above. The lower ends of the sweep lingers 30re spaced slightly above the top I'surface of the dead plate 16 as at116 (FIGURE 7) such that the iingers engage both superposed pouches 8which rest upon the dead plate. As the fingers 30 advance across thedead plate, the superposed pouches drop by gravity into the relatedconveyor bucket 4 for advancement toward the cartoning machine. Asexplained earlier, the two sweep mechanisms thus load the alternatebuckets of the conveyor for advancement of the pouches to the cartoningmachine 6.

Control System The electrical control circuit (FIGURE 18) which operatesthe arresting platesA 82-82 in response to the advancement of thepouches 8, is conventional and is not disclosed in detail. In general,the system includes an amplifying circuit interconnected with thephotoelectric cells 3S and adapted to operate the arresting plates inresponse to the signals from the cells. As noted earlier, the lightbeams 94 of each timing mechanism are interrupted by the pouches whichare advanced from the illing mechanism to the belt conveyor 4th (FIGURE5). When the light beams of the related pair of photocells areinterrupted individually by the normally spaced pouches 8, the controlsystem causes the arresting plate of that pair to remain in its normallowered position. However, when the pouches are improperly spaced (FIG-URES 13-17) causing both light beams of a given pair to be interruptedat the same time, then the control system elevates the arresting plateto restrain the trailing pouch until the normal spacing between thepouches is reestablished.

As shown generally in FIGURE 18, the control system is energized by thepower lines 117 which are connected tothe respective pairs of lamps9.2-9.2 by the branch lines 118-118. The power lines 117 also energizethe amplifying circuit 120, which is of conventional design. Theamplifying circuit includes the necessary amplifying tubes and coactingtransformers and rectiers for operating the tubes.

The pairs of photoelectric cells 88 are connected to the amplifyingcircuit by way of the pairs of output lines which transmit the. signalsfrom the cells to the amplifying circuit. Thus, the branch lines 121 and122 interconnect the cells 38 of the downstream timing apparatus withthe amplifying circuit 12), while the branch lines 123 and 124interconnectthe cells of the upstream apparatus with the amplifyingcircuit.

It will be recalled that the respective arresting plates 182, normallyreside in their lowered position and are shifted to the elevatedarresting position by the respective air cylinders 84. Operation ofthese cylinders is regulated by respective electrical reversing valves125. An rair line 126 supplies air pressure to the electrically operatedvalves 125 by way of the branch lines 127-127- Air pressure istransmitted to the cylinders S4. by branch During normal operationofeither timing apparatus,

vwith the pouches properly spaced, the amplifying circuit 7120conditions the related electrically operated valves In this valve theatmosphere, thus holding the arresting plate in its lowered position.However, when both light beams 94 lines 128 and 134il which lead fromthe reversing valves 125 to the opposite ends of the cylinders 8484.

of a given pair are interrupted concurrently by overlapping orimproperly spaced pouches, then the related cells signal the amplifyingcircuit by way of lines 121 and 122 or lines 123 and 124 to energize therelated reversing valve 12S. In response to this signal, the ainplifyingcircuit energizes the power lines 131-131 o1' 132-132 leading to theelectrically operated valve of that timing apparatus.

Upon being energized, the electrically operated valve 125 transmits airpressure from air line 126 by way of the conduit 131) to the lower endof the cylinder. The valve also opens the upper conduit 12S to theatmosphere, causing the piston of that cylinder to elevate the arrestingplate 82. As soon as normal pouch spacing is restored, with only one ofthe light beams interrupted, the amplifying circuit shifts the reversingvalve back to its normal position so as to lower the arresting plate fornormal advancement of the pouches.

Having described my invention I claim:

l. In a mechanism for receiving articles which issue from a machine atrandom and for advancing said articles at a substantially uniform normalspacing, a belt type article conveyor adapted to receive successivearticles delivered from the said machine and to frictionally engage andadvance the articles at said random spacing, a hold-back conveyormounted relative to the article conveyor, said hold-back conveyoradvancing in the same direction and at a rate slower than the articlesconveyor, said hold-back conveyor having hold-back elements adapted tointercept and restrain the articles which' are frictionally transportedon the belt type article conveyor, al photoelectric apparatus mountedrelative to said article conveyor and adapted to respond to theadvancement of the articles at random spacing along the articleconveyor, said photoelectric apparatus including an arresting deviceoperating in response to the photoelectric apparatus and adapted toarrest a trailing article on the article conveyor which is located atless than the normal spacing relative to an adjacent leading article,said arresting device adapted to release the arrested article inresponse to operation of the photoelectric apparatus when the normalspacing thereof relative to the adjacent leading article isreestablished, whereby said articles are advanced into engagement withthe hold-back conveyor at substantially uniform spacing.

2. In a mechanism for receiving .articles which issue at random spacingfrom a processing machine and for advancing said articles at asubstantially uniform normal spacing, a belt type article conveyoradapted to receive and advance the successive articles in spacedrelationship to one another, a hold-back conveyor mounted'relative tothe article conveyor and adapted to advance in the same direction and ata rate less than the rate of advancement of the article conveyor, saidhold-hack conveyor having hold-back elements mounted thereon at uniformspacing, said hold-back elements adapted to intercept and restrain thearticles which are transported upon the belt type article conveyor,thereby tol advance the articles at uniform spacing corresponding tothespacing of said hold-back elements, and a photoelectric apparatusmounted relativeto said belt type article conveyor at a point upstreamfrom theVhold-back conveyor and adapted to respond to the randomadvancement of the articles along the article conveyor, saidphotoelectric apparatus including an arresting device, said arrestingdevice, in response to operation of the photoelectric apparatus, adaptedto engage and lift an article from the article conveyor which is locatedrelative to an adjacent article at a spacing less than the spacing ofsaid holdback elements, thereby to arrest said article, said arrestingdevice adapted to lower said arrested article into engagement with thearticle conveyor in response to operation of the photoelectric apparatuswhen the normal spacing thereof relative to the adjacent article isreestablished, whereby said articles are advanced along saidv articleconveyor beyond said-.photoelectric apparatus at a spacing whichcorresponds generallyto the sr'aacingofv Y the hold-back elements, ofthe holdback conveyor;`

3L ln a; mechanism for receiving larticles which ,issue at. randomyspacing from a processing machine'andi for advancing saidarticles ata'substantially uniform normal? spacing,l a belttype article conveyorYadapted tonreceive l and advance the successive articlesain spacedrelationship to one another, -a hold-back conveyor mounted relative ltothe article conveyor and adapted to advance inthe same directionV and ata rate. less than the. rate of advancement of the. article conveyor,said hold-back; conveyor having 'hold-.back elementsymounted thereonVatuniforrri f article V`conveyor tolal successive hold-back element.

5 In a;'mechanism for receiving articles whichk issue from a machineatfrandom and for advancing said articles aty a; substantially'unifornfr normal spacing, a belt type Varticle conveyor adapted to.receive,successivearticles delivered from theY said machineand tofrictionally engage andgadvance'the articles at said random spacing, aholdspacing, saidholdfbaclc elementsl adapted to intercept restrainv thearticles whichy are transported Vuponthe belt type article conveyor,thereby tovadvance the articles at uniform spacing corresponding tothespacing of said Vhold-back elements, andra photoelectric apparatusmounted relativejto saidbeltftype article conveyor at a pointvdownstream fromthei hold-back, conveyor `and b aclr conveyor mountedVrelative tothe article conveyor,

said hold-back conveyor advancing at'a vrate slower than ythe, articleYconveyor andf"adapted to intercept sand restrain' the articles. whicharen'frictionally transported on vthe belt type article conveycfar,VVVan article arresting apt paratus mounted relative adapted' to respond tothe randomV advancementV ofi the t articles-along the varticle conveyor;said Vphotoel/ectric j to said article conveyor in a positionV Vupstreamfrom the.;hold-backVv conveyor and adaptedI to respondio theradvancement of the articles yat' Vrandomspacing along the articleconveyor, a photoapparatus including. ari-arrestingelementrwhich'is'.responsive to operationzof the 'said phot'oelectricapparatus, said arresting element adapted to'engage and lift antarticle,from the article, conveyor which is locatedl relative to an adjacentarticleV at la spacing less thanvth'e spacingbf said hold-back elements,fthereby to arrestfsaidv article,

to `actuate the'` same, said article arresting apparatus,

said arresting Yelement adaptedKA to lower the larrested i article into'engagement; with'v the article conveyor' in response to. operation-ofthephoto'electric apparatus,

thereby to release'V said-arrested: article `when thel normalspacing'thereof relativeV to the adjacentV article isreestabrv lished,whereby said articlesk are advanced along said article conveyor beyond'said photoelectri'c apparatus atl a spacing which corresponds generallyto the. spacing of said hold-back elements, said'farticlesl being`advanced individually by the said article conveyor into engagef mentwith the trailing edgevof respective holdfback elef ments, saidhold-back conveyor being adapted to restrain the articles atsubstantially-uniform spacing as the Varticles are advanced by thearticle conveyor.

` 4. In Vvravtrrieohanisrn for receivingarticles vs /hichi/issuev atrandom vspacing'l from la processing machinel and for advancing saidarticles at a substantially uniform normal electric apparatusmountedrelative totsaid article conveyorl and'adaptedto respondfjto theadvancement of the articles ivhich are advanceda 'random` spacing on thearticle conveyor, said photoelectric apparatus interconnectedwith saidarticle' arrestin'gapparatus and adapted response 4to' operation ofgthe.'photoelectric apparatus, adaptedto arrest a trailing articlefonrthearticle conveyor whichi'sV 'located 'atfle'ss 'than then'ormalfspacingrelative lt0 .an' adjacent leading article and` tof'release thearrested'arti-clewhen 'the normal' spacing thereof Vrelative to :the adjacentleading-article is reestablished, lwhereby 'said articles aref advancedinto engagement withy the holdlbackiconveyorl -at substantially uniformspacing.-

6.',In a mechanisniforreceiving articles which issue jat randomY spacingfromfa processing'machineA and for advancing,y said articlesQat a`substantiallyuniform normal spac1n g, a belt typearticle' conveyoradapted to receive Y and. advancerthe successive articlesin spacedrelationship to oneanother, av hold-*backV conveyor mounted rela- .#tiveto the` article conveyor v and ladapted' toy advance in spacing, abeltftype 'article conveyor adapted` to receive and advance thesuccessive articles in spacedirelation-V ship to o ne another, .ahold-back conveyor mountedlrela- 'Y tive to the artlcle conveyor andadapted tot advance in `the same direction and at a rate` less. than theratelvof advancement ofthe article conveyor, esaidv hold-,back con-yelements pivotally mountedfvk 1- veyor having hold-back,

thereon iat-uniform spacing,`said. l hold-back` elements# adaptedtoswingto'an inactive retracted position in the directionfof`advancement of theVV article. conveyor, said hold-'back Yelementsadapted tov intercept and :restrain the articles which areVtransportedaupon thevrbelt type Varticlef conveyor, lthereby' to.advance the articles Vat uniform 'l v id photo 55.

spacing' corresponding'tov theiispacing Vof vsaid hold-.back

elements,5and a photoelectric apparatusfmounted relativer to saidbelttype, article conveyor'at'ravpoint downstream from theholdbackconveyorancl Vadapted tok .respond tofthe random ladvancement`L`of; the articles along' the` article f conveyor, said vphotoelect'ricapparatusincluding anarres'tirigelement whichisjresponsive to` operationof` i the photoelectric apparatus-said arrestingelementadaptefd Vtovengage and lift 'anlarfticle '-from-the' article icom'zeyo'r;

".fsaid jiarticle conveyor' beyond which is located relative tora'nadjacent article at aspacing less than the spacing ofsaid'holdebackelernents, "there-f,

;V advance the artieles'. into engagementfwithl'the ltrailing by toarrest said article,said"arrestingaelenent adapted;

to lower saidV arrested article into engagement ivvithz the` 'a articleconveyor in response to operationof the .'ph'o'tojelectric"apparatus,'fthe1eby;to release salidlVarre'sfted-farticle. Awhen thefnorrnalspacingthereofqrevla'tive tothe adjacent 1 yarticle isreestablish'ed, w-hereby vsaid articles areadvanceidi' l'rold-backyconveyor, adapting 57:31u a' rnechan" advancing'fsaidjarticles ,at a

1 the same direction; at arateless than ,therate offadvancementY of",vthejarticle conveyor, said vholdeback conveyor vhavingloldibaclc-elementsV mounted thereon' at uniform spacing, said holdabackelements adapted to :intercept and restrain-the articles which aretransported upon the belt type articleV conveyor, therebyjto advance thearticles at unifornr spacingv corresponding ,toY the spacing -of saidhold-back elements, and a photoelectric article arrestin gapparatusmountedfreltive to said belt type, article`conapointsupstreamfrom' .ft;he holdbackY conveyor, electric arrestingAapparatus adapted to'respond toV the random advancement of V-thearticles along v,the article conveyor, said article? esting apparatusinclud- Y ing shiftable: means responsive-ftooperationKof-thephotoelectric article arresting apparatus,an'cll adaptedtoxarrestV anU article on,l the article? conveyor. which; ist. located.rela- Vt-ive'toJan fadja'cer'itle'adi'n'g article at a 'spacing-lessthan ments', said shiftable means being responsive to they therebyL torelease; fsaid arrested-t artile'fvvh'en the normal arresting.appainatus at a spacing which kcorresponds generally to the :spacing a f'the-holdback elements-v ofthe heY 1 article conveyor to sides ofthe.holdback .elemen l et` celect1icv g'arresting 'j apparatusl and adaptedto befshiftedtoarelease position,

spacing thereofrelative to thei,adjacent leading article j Y yfokrec-el,ying'"- arti-cles'p'vvhieliaissue v at .randomsspacingfrom ayprocessingfmachine .andi for.

suhstantiallyuniform spacing, v-

an article conveyor comprising la pair of spaced parallel belts adaptedto receive the opposite end portions of the articlesy and to advance thesame, a hold-back conveyor mounted above said article conveyor andadapted to ad- Vance at a rate less than the rate of advancement of thearticle conveyor, said hold-back conveyor having holdback elementsmounted at a normal uniform spacing, said hold-back elements projectingdownwardly relative to the spaced belts of the article conveyor andadapted to engage and restrain the articles which are transported uponthe spaced belts of the article conveyor, and photoelectric articlearresting means mounted relative to said belt type article conveyor at apoint upstream from the hold-back' conveyor, said photoelectric articlearresting means adapted to respond to the random advancement of thearticles along the article conveyor, said photoelectric articlearresting means including a shifting element adapted to arrest anarticle on the article conveyor which is located relative to an adjacentarticle at a spacing less than the spacing of said hold-back elements ofthe holdback conveyor, said shiftable element of the photoelectricarticle arresting means adapted to release said arrested article whenthe normal spacing thereof relative to the adjacent article isreestablis'hed, whereby said articles are advanced along said articleconveyor beyond said arresting means at a spacing which correspondsgenerally to the spacing of said hold-back elements.

8. In a mechanism for receiving articles which issue at random spacingfrom a processing machine and for advancing said articles at asubstantially uniform spacing, an article conveyor comprising a pair ofspaced parallel belts adapted to receive the opposite end portions ofthe articles and to advance the said articles, a hold-back conveyormounted above said article conveyor and adapted to advance at a rateless than the rate of advancement of the article conveyor, saidhold-back conveyor having hold-back elements mounted at a normal uniformspacing, said hold-back elements projecting downwardly relative to thespaced belts of the article conveyor, said hold-back elements adapted toengage and restrain the articles which are transported upon the spacedbelts of the article conveyor, and article arresting means mountedrelative to said belt type article conveyor at a point upstream from thehold-back conveyor, said arresting means adapted to respond to therandom advancement of the articles along the article conveyor, saidarticle arresting means including an arresting element interposedbetween the spaced parallel belts of the article conveyor and normallyresiding in an inactive position relative to said belts, said arrestingmeans adapted to shift said article arresting element to an activeposition relative to the belts of the article conveyor in response tothe advancement of an article on the article conveyor which is locatedrelative to an adjacent article at a spacing less than the spacing ofsaid hold-back elements of the hold-back conveyor, said arresting meansadapted to shift said arresting element back to said inactive positionand to release said trailing article when the normal spacing thereofrelative to the adjacent article is reestablished, whereby said articlesare advanced along said article conveyor beyond said arresting means ata spacing which corresponds generally to the spacing of said hold-backelements.

9. A mechanism for receiving articles which issue at random spacing froma processing machine and for transferring said articles to a cartoningmachine conveyor at substantially uniform spacing in time with thecartoning machine conveyor, said mechanism comprising, an articleAconveyor adapted to receive said articles at random spacing, an articlearresting mechanism adapted to operate in response to the advancingarticles on the article conveyor, said arresting mechanism adapted toarrest an article which is disposed at less than a normal spacingrelative to an adjacent article and to release said article when anormal spacing is reestablished, a hold-back conveyor mounted relativeto the article conveyor and advancing at a rate slower than the articleconveyor, said hold-back conveyor adapted to engage and restrain thenormally spaced articles on the article conveyor downstream from thearresting mechanism, and a sweep mechanism mounted relative to thecartoning machine conveyor and adapted to receive the spaced articlesadvanced from the holdback conveyor, said sweep mechanism having a sweepelement advancing in the same direction as the cartoning machineconveyor and at the same rate of speed, said sweep element adapted toengage and transfer the article from the sweep mechanism to thecartoning machine conveyor in time with the advancement thereof.

l0. A timing mechanism for receiving articles which issue at randomspacing from a processing machine and for transferring said articles tothe buckets of a cartoning machine conveyor in time with the advancementof the cartoning machine conveyor, said cartoning machine conveyor beingdisposed substantially at right angles to the timing mechanism, saidtiming mechanism comprising a belt conveyor adapted to receive saidarticles at random spacing, an article timing mechanism mounted adjacentthe belt conveyor, and adapted to space the articles uniformly on thebelt conveyor, a holdback conveyor mounted relative to the belt conveyorand advancing at a rate slower than the belt conveyor, said holdbackconveyor adapted to engage and restrain the normally spaced articles onthe belt conveyor downstream from the timing mechanism, a dead platemounted above the cartoning machine conveyor and adapted to receive thearticles advanced from the hold-back conveyor, and a sweep mechanismmounted above said dead plate and having a sweep element adapted to passacross the dead plate in the same direction as the cartoning machineconveyor and at the same rate of speed, said sweep element adapted toengage an article resting upon the dead plate and to transfer thearticle from the dead plate into a bucket of the cartoning machineconveyor.

l1. A timing mechanism for receiving articles which issue at randomspacing from a processing machine and for transferring said articles tothe 4buckets of a cartoning machine conveyor in time with the cartoningmachine conveyor, said cartoning machine conveyor being disposedsu-bstantially at right angles to the timing mechanism, said timingmechanism comprising, a belt conveyor adapted to receive said articlesat random spacing, an article timing mechanism mounted adjacent the beltconveyor and adapted to space the articles uniformly on the beltconveyor, a hold-back conveyor mounted relative to the belt conveyor andadvancing at a rate slower than the belt conveyor, said hold-backconveyor adapted to engage and restrain the normally spaced articles onthe belt conveyor downstream from the timing mechanism, an infeedconveyor mounted downstream from the hold-back conveyor and adapted toengage the trailing edges of the normally spaced articles at thedownstream end of the hold-back conveyor, a dead plate mounted at thedownstream end of the infeed conveyor above the cartoning machineconveyor and adapted to receive the articles advanced by the infeedconveyor, and a sweep mechanism mounted above Said dead plate and havinga sweep element adapted to passacross the dead plate in the samedirection as the cartoning machine conveyor and at the same rate ofspeed, said sweep element adapted to engage the article resting upon thedead plate and to transfer the article from the dead plate into a bucketof the cartoning machine conveyor.

12. A timing mechanism for receiving articles which issue at randomspacing from a processing machine and for transferring said articles tothe buckets of a cartoning machine conveyor in time with the cartoningmachine conveyor, said cartoning machine conveyor being disposedsubstantially at right angles to the timing mechanism, said timingmechanism comprising, a belt conveyor adapted to receive said articlesat random spacing, an

1. IN A MECHANISM FOR RECEIVING ARTICLES WHICH ISSUE FROM A MACHINE ATRANDOM AND FOR ADVANCING SAID ARTICLES AT A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM NORMALSPACING, A BELT TYPE ARTICLE CONVEYOR ADAPTED TO RECEIVE SUCCESSIVEARTICLES DELIVERED FROM THE SAID MACHINE AND TO FRICTIONALLY ENGAGE ANDADVANCE THE ARTICLES AT SAID RANDOM SPACING, A HOLD-BACK CONVEYORMOUNTED RELATIVE TO THE ARTICLE CONVEYOR, SAID HOLD-BACK CONVEYORADVANCING IN THE SAME DIRECTION AND AT A RATE SLOWER THAN THE ARTICLESCONVEYOR, SAID HOLD-BACK CONVEYOR HAVING HOLD-BACK ELEMENTS ADAPTED TOINTERCEPT AND RESTRAIN THE ARTICLES WHICH ARE FRICTIONALLY TRANSPORTEDON THE BELT TYPE ARTICLE CONVEYOR, A PHOTOELECTRIC APPARATUS MOUNTEDRELATIVE TO SAID ARTICLE CONVEYOR AND ADAPTED TO RESPOND TO THEADVANCEMENT OF THE ARTICLES AT RANDOM SPACING ALONG THE ARTICLECONVEYOR, SAID PHOTOELECTRIC APPARATUS INCLUDING AN ARRESTING DEVICEOPERATING IN RESPONSE TO THE PHOTOELECTRIC APPARATUS AND ADAPTED TOARREST A TRAILING ARTICLE ON THE ARTICLE CONVEYOR WHICH IS LOCATED ATLESS THAN THE NORMAL SPACING RELATIVE TO AN ADJACENT LEADING ARTICLE,SAID ARRESTING DEVICE ADAPTED TO RELEASE THE ARRESTED ARTICLE INRESPONSE TO OPERATION OF THE PHOTOELECTRIC APPARATUS WHEN THE NORMALSPACING THEREOF RELATIVE TO THE ADJACENT LEADING ARTICLE ISREESTABLISHED, WHEREBY SAID ARTICLES ARE ADVANCED INTO ENGAGEMENT WITHTHE HOLD-BACK CONVEYOR AT SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM SPACING.